Ben Wilhelmi

Gay Pride, Brussels, B/W film photography

 

 

 

Leica M6 at work, B/W films.

sceneries in Tanzania

 

Villages in the Rift Valley.

 

Active volcano Lengai in the Rift Valley.

 

A non-perennial lake at Olbalbal, Ngorongoro area.

 

2 different views of Mt Makarot in Ngorongoro area.

 

A little Masai herder runs after his goats near Mt Masonik.

 

A shy Masai herder at the foot of volcano Lengai.

 

And a classic Serengeti sunset to end this post.

people in the bush, Flying Medical Service, Tanzania

 

Flying Medical Service operates in about 30 remote villages in the Tanzanian bush on top of various emergencies or humanitarian flights.

Here is a medical hut in Ngaresero at the foot of an active volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai. This hut is a luxury as in most places villagers didn’t bother to build one. That absence is a bit of an inconvenience when it rains or when patients need some privacy (which is a total foreign concept in the bush…) . I gather there is no TV out there so nobody wants to miss the latest medical gossip, like who got an STD, the sighting of a machete wound, who has elephantiasis on the genitals etc but women don’t like to share their personal problems with the whole bunch around.

 

Hut or not doesn’t deter people I have to admit. So once in a while some butts need to be whipped…

 

A village nearby another airstrip. Though I can help in some ways my medical colleagues, I’m still just a pilot and people like to keep roles clearly defined. A driver won’t like you to give him advice and cooks (mostly women but that’s universal)  hate to see me cooking my stuff my own way. So if there is no rush, I get to walk around and take time to enjoy the bush.

 

At 2000 m in the mountains, these guys must be fit.

 

There is a common joke/knowledge here in Tanzania that wherever you think you’re alone in the bush (when you need to pee for instance), there will always be a Masai popping out of nowhere and greeting you. Indeed they seem to walk out of and to nowhere with no village in sight… never ask a Masai for estimates! For him ‘a little bit further’ or ‘just around the bush tree’ means half a day of walk. It tends to drive white people nuts…

 

 

Notice the red pouch with a cell phone.

 

The doctor of the day with patients. No hut available, that means working under the wing for shade. Trees are convenient too.

 

Just friends. Homosexuality in Africa is still a crime in many countries, see Uganda and its crazy law projects. In Masai culture, it’s just not talked about.

 

In the medical hut… obviously no bad news so far.

Chimpanzees, Mahale, film photography

 

I’ve said it before but Mahale on lake Tanganyika, western Tanzanian, is the best park to view the chimpanzees in the wild but in excellent conditions. Nomad Safari is the best company for lodging in the park (and I'm not on their payroll anymore). The pictures below were shot with a 135mm lens max. On slide film, the hard way as opposed to digital.

 

Having a rest…

and sneezing! Flu is a killer within great apes by the way. You’re asked to decline the visit if you’re sick.

 

 

 

Nearby the researchers’ camp…

 

this container is quite often (enough to force the guys to abandon it)hammered by a male chimp to assert his message. The power in those limbs is enough to damage the metal wall.

“I got your attention??”

 

Burma, photography

 

Rangoon, the Schwedagon pagoda. A peaceful area but packed with dozens of pagodas and various Buddha statues to worship. Imagine a place where different churches, crosses and altars side by side. And every believer wanderer walks around and chooses one cross that looks more inspiring than the others.

Remember the saffron revolution? This monk is wearing that very color.

 

Whereas the nuns wear pink.

 

A big difference with a church, a mosk... people here can rest or bring food in a sacred place.

 

 

 

 

 

Other examples of a multitude of Buddhas sitting next to each other.

 

 

2004, Leica M6, a convenient camera for such a place. Hardly no noise, small but professional…

lake Natron, various colors, aerial pictures

that beautiful lake Natron lies in the Rift Valley, northern Tanzania. Here is a random selection over the years of vertical views. Those colors are ever changing as are the artistic salt patterns.

flamingoes nesting. Not a daily occurence, not even a yearly one! Check carefully for the white eggs.

 

 

Cologne, street photography in the 80’s-90’s

 

I grew up close to Cologne (or Köln), Germany, so when I got my first camera in 1987, a Minolta X700, this is where I learnt my street photography skills. That city was, and still is I heard, buzzing with people, tourists, artists…especially in ‘89 with the collapse of the Iron Wall, suddenly a flock of musicians came out and performed on the streets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a bunch of similar artists. It must be sad to see your work disappear within a few days.

photography in infrared, Tanzania

 

Old Masai men wise under a big tree. They’re having a meeting and in turn, women are not attending.

 

Serengeti sceneries below.

 

 

 

Wildebeests passing by...

 

As usual, shot on Kodak Aerochrome film and Rolleiflex 3.5F. Initially that was a scientific and/or military purpose film.

how to deal with thieves in Africa

 

I wrote on a previous post how local police preferred a dead thief body over a live one.

Here is one example of mob lynching but the Masai way, in style. A bit of a change from the usual burning tyre around the neck…

Some years ago in Arusha, some Masai warriors went in a police station and gave a plastic bag to the receptionist. The poor guy must have been surprised because the bag contained a severed human head. The warriors explained that they had caught a thief and gave him a royal treatment. And they left with a police blessing.

The funny part, so to speak, was that the thief hadn’t stolen anything from these warriors but from a neighboring village apparently, village where he was spotted and chased by angry warriors. One managed a hit with a spear across the torso at which point they all decided to stop the chase since the thief was seriously wounded. The thief reached another village…a Masai village too where he didn’t get a proper welcome. The people there noticed the spear in the wound, recognised a weapon of their own and assumed the previous attackers must have had a good reason to try to kill the visitor so they nailed him on the ground with the same spear while deciding what to do! Just to be sure he wouldn’t run away or what? Then the old men had a meeting, talked and talked and finally decided decapitation was the most human way to kill the thief. No need to call the cops, let’s be good citizens and help them instead… that story was in the newspapers and no one was ever questioned further by the police.

Special breed the Masai… and the local police.

Tanzania, wildlife photography from the air

 

overflying lake Natron and away. I’m still flying, window open, Nikon D300s and my new 85mm.

 

This lone pelican got me by surprise and I had no time to compensate for the exposition. The wings are a bit highlighted…but that’s the only picture with a bird flying nearby the airplane that I have… It’s not easy to fly the airplane while looking for the bird through the view finder and catch it with the autofocus…

 

2 vertical of flamingoes. And this is not even a big concentration of them. Once in a while it looks like there is over a million down there.

 

Probably some pelicans.

 

Those 2 pelicans were flying much lower than me.

 

same zebras as the ones I posted some weeks ago, splashing water in a pond. This time they were disturbing dust instead of water. Not bad scenery either…

 

(cropped)

 

 

 

That’s the picture I was referring to, zebras running in the water… quite stunning too right?

portraits in sepia, the bush in Tanzania

 Northern Tanzania near the Rift valley...

A Sonjo woman.

 

A Masai woman.

 

Freshly circumcised Masai boys and girl.

Mang'ati woman, that is a cousin sub Masai clan.

 

Another Sonjo woman.

on the road, USA

I’ve seen much better marketing than that….

 

those cars had character, right? Look at the ugly shapeless donkey behind the blue Bel Air…

 

road side letter boxes, unseen in Europe.

 

pick a US map and pick all the European names, it will keep you busy for a while. Then the identical names will show by dozens. Like Sacramento. We’re here in Arizona, not near San Francisco.

 

this car wreck must be part of a road safety campaign. Such an old piece of junk must have been left there on purpose. Route 66 near Oatman, Arizona.

 

Ok I’d change the paint but I wouldn’t mind such a toy in Tanzania.

 

typical landscapes nearby towns. Billboards all over. The ad for gun is mind blowing for Europeans….

thief treatment in Africa

 

Another example of what could happen to thieves, in Nairobi this time, and why police prefer a dead thief…

An expatriate had seen robbery attempts a few times in his places. Each time, his zealous Masai guards killed the intruders. For a Masai, a warrior at heart, the opportunities are too good to be missed. But the expatriate was begging, threatening them to spare the thieves and call the police. But to no avail. One night the burglary attempt happens while the man is at home so he hears the scream of the thief who was apparently slowly butchered by the Masai askaris. It seems they were playing like a cat with a mouse… Anyway he managed to make them stop and he called the police while still eyeing the fidgeting and angry guards. They must have felt like in a interrupted coitus…

The police arrived and got upset, questioned the askaris about the condition of the thief, that is that he was alive! Now they had to call an ambulance, got into a lot of paperwork, then in for a court appearance, then send him to jail on taxpayers’ money etc. Whereas a dead thief body is probably just dumped in the trash bin…

The askaris defended their case by pointing to that sissy of an expatriate who prevented the good job to be done. The cops must have rolled their eyes and sighted. Ah those delicate white people…

flying the bush, Tanzania

 

Oil leak on a twin engine Chieftain, Arusha. An easy emergency on one engine, there was only one passenger and some supplies on board.

 

Arusha, a Let 410 on the tarmac after the pilots “forgot” to lower the landing gear. Since it happened a few ties too many with the same company in a short period of time, it was not difficult to see why everybody thought of insurance scam to renew the whole fleet of aircraft… Not that rare to hear pilots who have been approached and asked to trash an airplane in exchange of a good “zawadi” (that is a gift in swahili).

Here is some dickhead, probably the janitor or something of that security level, running to try to seize my camera. He was well received needless to say. In Tanzania, and I bet in some other countries, it is still forbidden to snap at public building like post office. Of course some people take this old law quite literally… this guy had a point since the tarmac could be considered public…

 

Olpirikata, a narrow strip, look where the shadow stands, but otherwise easy access.

 

Nobody was drunk! It’s just a sloped airstrip, Engoveroni is aligned with the horizon, on the flank of Empakai crater. Basically there are the pilots who have been there and the others. Altitude of 6500ft so with our non-turbo Cessna 206’s this means lower power available, only 450m long, about 50m difference between the extremities so the flare is interesting, quite a rough surface, located between steep gullies, a windy place. I wonder how my boss felt the first time he went there after he declared it “landable”…

 

Olorbelin on lake Natron shore, near Kenya.

 

Mini twister, here called dust devils. Quite common near the Equator, not dangerous except if you fly through one on take off or landing. I was caught once on take off and got a serious kick in the ass, believe me.

 

yes this is an airstrip, Makami, the decay is due to a combination of Flying Medical Service knack for crazy selections of bush strips and lack of maintenance from the local people…

 

This one, I’m reasonably proud of since it is NOT taught in flying schools and I haven’t met another pilot who has done it too. I did this skidding maneuver only twice, the second one being much better, straighter than the one on pictures. Of course had I known the strip was so wet and slippery, I wouldn’t have landed in the first place. But as one can see, Narakawo airstrip is in fact another bit of road track that we also use as an airstrip, this is not registered, there is nobody reliable to check it out for us and warn us… there was just a puddle or 2 that I could notice when I came for the low pass inspection. See how the wetness is revealed by the tyre prints? So I landed on that 400m strip and though quite short, I intended to be easy on the brakes. And so when I started to apply the brakes, I felt like on ice and it was then too late to go around. In one second I had to remember some theory discussions about applying only one brake, on the left wheel in this case, play with the rudder, add some power to accentuate the skidding 180 degree turn, swap brakes and full power when the plane had finished her turn to stop her for good. A bit of electricity running down my spine, I admit…

It It worked though it lacked precision and style. This hole stopped the plane before the end of turn and also before the end of strip, not too far. No damage at least.

 

just before take off, Ifakara. Nice name no?

Arusha, rugby at TGT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

late afternoon flight, Tanzania, aerial photography

 

a beautiful late light in the Ngorongoro area. Here is a selection taken on a 35 min flight back to Endulen hospital after a good of outreach clinic. Quite a scenic and diverse area isn’t it?

This is the Ngorongoro Highlands, a majestic area. I always feel sorry for the Masai people living down there. There are mountains, valleys, plateaus, gullies and ravines just next door to each village. It has a big advantage when your next neighbor is a bit out of reach because of the terrain, there is no Facebook attitude, you really select the people you want to see.

 

 

 

There was an unusual thunderstorm far away.

 

 

 

 

Dry season nowadays, man-made fires have started, here for grass burning.

 

news in Arusha

 

weekly gruesome facts appear in the newspapers. The most common one seems to relate to mob justice.

I’ve lost counts on how many pedophiles caught red handed have been killed by irate family members or neighbors. Thieves are equally treated: usually an old tyre is thrown around the criminal’s neck, filled in with petrol and set alight! Showtime!

Last month, a thief caught only with stolen cassava and goat got the penalty.

Radical for criminal attitude right? Well even suspects can get the treatment. There was  a recent case where suspects, that is thieves in a car roaming a neighborhood, got spotted, caught, beaten up and set alight too. OK the car boot contained various tools like crow bars… but then what? As the joke goes, men should have their penis cut off  because they are equipped for rape?

So obviously beware the crowd after an incident, reactions can go wild and not always as expected. Any new expatriate arriving here will soon get the advice to flee away when involved in any accident with local population. Any is the key word here. You drive and hit a child, you speed off and go to the next police station, you witness something and you speed off even if obviously you cannot possibly and logically (forget that word with crowds) be responsible. One bad leader in a crowd and you’re toast. A white skin does not help, true.

I happened once to hit a drunken idiot on the road, he was playing chicken with me and I was not to make a frontal with an opposite car…big noise, a shape flew over the windshield and I fled to the police station. The chief of police welcomed me and my action. I still spent some time in a cell, alone though and I was not beaten up nor stolen. The same cannot be said for the neighboring residents in other cells where beatings alternated with religious songs and prayers. Honestly? I did regret for a while to have stopped by and if I had had an iota of religion, I might have started to pray too. The beating on a human body makes a disturbing noise, not to mention the screams… But as said, I just lost time there…

Last month, I was running down the road when I spotted a motorbike and passengers nearly got crushed by a truck front wheels. Just blood and broken bones luckily, I still stopped for a few seconds then that bell rung in my head and I resumed jogging. Just in case. Did I overreact? Maybe…

The former case leads to my very first experience: still a rookie in Africa I was pedaling on my bicycle when a car overtook me and hit a bystander a few seconds later. I literally saw the man flying a few meters high in the air. The car didn’t even slow down. I stopped to help the victim who was obviously already dead. A crowd gathered in no time. Then a white driver stopped behind and yelled at me, told me to fuck off right away, asked if I had a dead wish, I was arguing that I was a biker and so on but the man didn’t let it go, insisted I leave asap, that he’d follow me for a while, ready to ride over any thug! Huho, I realised he was serious and I left for good. Friends later confirmed it was the right thing to do, just in case.

Some months ago, a black driver hit and killed a child. Weird enough he stopped. Things went quickly out of control though it was obvious he was not to blame. Still he got beaten, the jeep was smashed, the tourists inside got the fright of their life, the police for once was quick to intervene. The funny part in this one? The victim’s mother got hit and trashed by the same crowd for being such a bad mother and letting a small child play on the roadside! So that’s it? Penalty for everybody involved?

Does it make more sense now?

What about the police? They usually arrive later, much later and pretend to enquire and search for the mob but we never read any results in the papers. Let’s face it, it is common knowledge that policemen prefer dead bodies over live ones: less paperwork and phone calls, less people in crowded prisons, better for the taxpayer money… nothing surprising there.

portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

 

half blinded Masai woman. Eye diseases and accidents are a scourge in Africa, and unfortunately, in many cases, a treatment exists but is too pricey or just not available…

 

Sonjo girl and woman. Jewels kept to a minimum in this tribe.

 

Some old Masai men. A woolen hat, why not? Just that the place is usually boiling hot…

 

 

Above a Masai woman, these ear jewels are usually bright in colors and can have a complex shapes, and below 2 freshly excised Masai girls. They will wear those typical excision beads and black cloth while healing, then marry.

 

Not her kid luckily. That size for her age would mean disaster. Fistula s a serious problem in Africa, too many underage girls get pregnant at a  too young age, then get no care for that horrible condition and become rejected by families, the very same families which arranged the marriages…But the girls like to train as future mothers.

 

Some Warusha kids, just around Arusha.

Paris, Montmartre, B/W photography

 

It was a beautiful spring time. Karine and I loved to wander around with various cameras, though we selected some for each day. Weight is one issue, we were not on an assignment but just shooting for our own pleasure. Another issue is to limit your choice of gear to a minimum so you focus on what you have, not on what you’d love to have, nor what you should have taken. You don’t waste time swapping lenses or even zooming instead of walking around your subject. For instance, that day, I just had a vintage Rolleiflex with the 80 mm built-on lens and B/W films. No hassle to wonder what to do, to think of the many options you’ve got in your bulky bag.

 

 

The city passed a law recently: sketch artists and painters have to take an exam before performing legally in the streets. Similar case for the musicians in the metro. Nothing wrong with that restrictions I’d say. Now one can go at ease and get a sketch done without too much disappointment.

 

The flight of stairs down the Sacré-Coeur, overlooking Paris.

lake Eyasi, Tanzania, aerial photography

 

a salt lake south of Ngorongoro crater. These pictures were shot on one round trip flight. Quite a diversity isn’t it?

A fisherman camp in the southern area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feminism and child issue in Tanzania

 

Feminists would be enraged by some details in Tanzania, not only about the domestic violence and lack of rights… there is that female nurse in one of our hospitals who delivered twins. Suddenly no one refers to her as Castuli, her first name, but by Mama Wawili. That nickname means Mother of the Two. It looks like her personality has been erased, that she only exists as a breeder (and preferably little boys). That attitude is not only reserved for twins, many women would lose their first name and become “mother of…”

A barren woman is in serious trouble in Africa. In some cases, another mother- a real friend I’d say- could give a baby to a childless one to relieve the social stigma.

A Masai woman would finally get respected when she has delivered 4 boys. And that’s not enough, they have to make it to the warrior age too.

White people here are always eyed suspiciously, with incomprehension or pity if they are childfree, even more if the decision not to have any is known as in my case and at my venerable age.

Having said that, I’m sure you have picked some similarities on the baby issue with our western cultures. Wasn’t it common to choose a wife on her hip measurements and anyway to send her back if she proved to be barren? What about the social pressure from normal people upon younger ones to have children? I said “normal” because  here in Arusha enters the 4th dimension, that is the missionaries or same orientated-minded people… who think they have a godly right and mission to harass the “others”.

I’ve lost count on how many times I had to explain my choice to them and they are even worse as they insist, bring on the subject on a regular basis and show little tact. And thus they don’t seem to realise that some people would love to get just one child but can’t for medical reasons. Just try to imagine the pain to have the subject thrown in your face.

There is such a near brain dead religious woman here who witnessed her good friend and me split over the child issue. Then what does she do as soon as I have a new girlfriend? She brings the subject again!! Time to get some yoga lessons with that one…

Lately I’ve mentioned the magic word: vasectomy! I can nearly read in their mind “Vade Retro, Satanas”! At best commiseration and prayers to come for my lost soul…but I haven’t been bothered too much lately. The message got through their intolerant neurons…

Anyway not long ago the situation for women in the West was not brighter. Africans are always surprised that in Europe white men hardly behaved differently about up to 40 years ago and that there are still some remnant attitudes. I love to explain those things and see what happens. And so lately, a doctor asked a confirmation about our women by then having no right except to keep quiet and obedient, no work, being beaten with no fuss... I did confirm the main idea, the guy was a bit confused, paused and then asked “what happened to you guys, why did you let it go?”. I said we didn’t really see it coming…and that African women were on the rise too. He got scared and went into denial, poor guy.

Chimpanzees in Tanzania, B/W photography

 

Apparently the best place to spot chimpanzees in good conditions is in Mahale NP, western Tanzania. Other countries will pretend the opposite but what I heard from clients was the difficult transport means, poor accomodations and mostly chimps staying high up in trees.

A beautiful tropical forest and easy-going chimps will come  a few meters away from the few visitors.

 

 

Some of the males look like mini Schwarzeneggers…

 

Flea removal or grooming is a national pastime, and their sense of privacy is not quite the same as ours…

 

I flew about 2 years for a company who ran lodges, camps and aircraft, so I got to spend weeks in a row (up to 6 once, so cool) in the bush, flying clients between camps.

 

All these pictures shot on B/W films.

Arusha, walking down the streets with a camera

 

The main thing with a camera is to look normal, not like a tourist. That is forget the Indiana Jones or beach bummer look.

hawkers pestering tourists, a plague like anywhere in the world.

 

 

Fashion is interesting in Africa, a lot of diversity for a photographer’s eye.

 

 

Here is the Tanzanian flag painted on the fence.

 

 

In our street…

 

Coke and Pepsi, the main soda providers who also sponsor about everything, from schools, to police stations and even churches…

 

Hand carts will carry about anything.

sceneries in the bush, Tanzania

 

This used to be an airstrip on lake Natron shorelines. One day, some serious maintenance was to be done and at the same time the “bush urbanism” was revised too. So for the village to expand and our flying needs to be met, the villagers preferred to rebuild a new one a bit further. The old is slowly becoming the main street with a bar, a shop or 2, built in some more modern way than plain hut.

 

 

The beautiful mount Meru overlooking Arusha and the surrounding bush.

 

 

 

 

 

After shopping, these women are packing the donkeys with goodies for the way long way home.

 

Chinese or Indian motorbikes have been heavily imported lately (and they contribute to curb the galloping demography) and are to be seen in some remote parts of Tanzania, without even proper dirt tracks, but where jobs are available like in mining or touristy areas. Still a novelty for many bush people, like Masai women above.

 

A Masai couple at work.

wildlife from the air, photography in Tanzania

 

continued from yesterday's post. The same day overflying lake Natron but on the shoreline, after the flamingoes the zebras showed up.

 

Admire the complex pattern on the spine which we hardly notice from a jeep.

 

A lone wildebeest (un gnou en français). Obviously this guy and the others below have nothing to do with the big migration across the Mara River. We are here in the Rift Valley, quite far from the Serengeti.

 

Zebras, wildebeests and various birds on the same picture. Slightly blurred but what a scenery, I couldn't resist to post it nevertheless.

 

Wildebeests crossing a delta. I’m happy for the splash, the jump and the rings in the water but sad for the pictures are slightly blurred though the shutter speed was at 1/8000 sec! The speed of the aircraft is still an handicap combined with some turbulences that day. Notice that the zebra pictures up there are sharp…

 

A lone zebra a bit further again with foot marks in the water.

 

And a lone ostrich, a male with his typical black feathers. Females have dull brown feathers.

flamingoes, aerial photography on lake Natron, Tanzania

 

2 days ago, I was flying over northern lake Natron and spotted the usual flamingoes living there. I had to slow down the airplane for landing anyway, less than 10 minutes of flight between the 2 airstrips, and I could shoot them at various angles and light and locations. There were 3 groups a bit further of the delta and the water aspect changes dramatically within a few hundred meters.

Once again, the birds were showing a shadow and a reflection on the water surface.

 

 

Still running to gain speed as flamingoes don’t take off vertically.

 

They get into flying in so packed formation flights and never seem to crash, always amazing. And that feat makes me a bit jealous I have to admit.

 

I like this one for the triple action: one group stays cool while a second one is on the run and a third is already airborne. I’ll see if I can print this one on our A3+ printer.

 

 

landscapes on Route 66, neat Oatman, Arizona

 

Wildlife, photography from an aircraft

 

I wish I could overfly the same landscapes and animals with a powered paragliding… the aircraft is great but usually a bit too fast for photography at low altitude and requires even more concentration since I fly and handle the camera at the same time.

 

I have to print this one in large size!

 

Wildebeests.

 

 

Wildebeests.

 

Flamingoes.

 

Zebras.

 

 

 

infrared photography, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

Green foliage turns pink whereas red, like the red cross on the tail or Masai clothes, turns orange

 

 

 

Again I used a now defunct slide film, the Kodak Aerochrome EIR, a red or yellow filter, and a medium format Rolleiflex.

rugby in Arusha

a little selection of last month games in TGT, Arusha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chimpanzees, B/W film photography

 

Mahale Nat’l Park, western Tanzania, probably the best place in the world to view the chimpanzees. It’s not only the quality of the sighting but the surroundings, that is mountains, lake and various activities.

So here are some old pictures shot over the many weeks I had spent over there, all on good old B/W films, even some Kodak Tmax 3200 like this one. For the youngsters, they can’t understand that prehistoric way to do pictures.

 

We were supposed to keep a minimum distance but the chimps didn’t know that so we got to be really close, where a 50 or 105 mm lens would be enough.

 

Mahale is a tropical forest, so once in a while the stars would stay in thick foliage but that shouldn’t deter anyone to keep on shooting.

 

 

Not having oral pleasure but tick removal session. Well I think…

 

 

 

These guys are artists at staying at ease on thin ropes.

portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

A young Masai girl, 15 years old, recently excised. She wears the typical beads on her forehead during the healing time. Then she’ll marry a man normally chosen for her, usually much much older. The girl is reasonably lucky as the husband looked like only 30 years old and she seemed to really enjoy him. Things change…10 years ago these girls were considered impure while healing and in turn would be kept in he family huts. For the last 2 years I’ve seen quite many hanging around and not hiding, even asking me to shoot some pictures.

 

Undisclosed tribe...

 

Sonjo woman, west of lake Natron.

 

Young Masai boy freshly circumsized too but except his black cloth and necklace he is not wearing much of his regalia

 

Sonjo mama.

 

A Warusha girl wearing common Obama hat.

 

Warusha.

 

 All Masai girls

 

 

abstract art, aerial photography in Tanzania

 

overflying various lakes, rivers and dry lands over the seasons in Tanzania.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

aerial photography in Tanzania, people

 

There is a lot of activity going on under the wings, the thing is to keep an eye open.

Fishermen drying their catch on ovens.

Masai herders and their ‘boma’ (little village) are the most common human activity in the northern bush.

 

 

 

Happy child (enlarged picture for the documentary purpose)